Wales 10-14 Scotland: Second half try from Stuart McInally proves crucial

Scotland ended their Welsh hex by spoiling Alun Wyn Jones’ day, winning their first game there since 2002 — meaning Wayne Pivac has now lost five in a row.

Stuart Hogg’s late penalty, adding to a try from a driving maul from Stuart McInally and kicks from Finn Russell and Adam Hastings, who both now face anxious waits on injuries to a groin and shoulder respectively, saw Scotland home.

Wales have not lost this many Tests consecutively since 2016, only managing a Rhys Carre converted score and a Leigh Halfpenny penalty. And Jones, on the occasion of his record-breaking 149th international, was not impressed.

Scotland beat Wales in the Six Nations following a second half try from Stuart McInally

Rhys Carre scored his first try for Wales as the prop powered himself over the line 

‘Ultimately, it is not good enough. We’ve got to get better,’ he said.

‘We have high expectations from the previous 12 years, with three Grand Slams and a Championship, but we can’t forget the years that were pretty dormant.

‘We’ve started in that vein and are keen to change it.’

Asked about his record-breaking day, Jones curtly replied: ‘It’s done now, we can move on. It’s not the time to celebrate.’

And under-pressure Pivac, the Wales head coach, added: ‘It’s probably the worst defeat in terms of the performance. We didn’t really fire too many shots. We would single out this game as one that we should not have lost. We need to start winning, there is no doubt about that.’

Gregor Townsend was delighted, though.

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones broke the world record for most Test appearances in 149th cap

Scotland’s fly-half Finn Russell tried his best to break down the Welsh defence in first half

‘To get an away win is something we have been wait for against Wales for a while,’ the Scotland head coach said. ‘It is great for this group to have some sort of confirmation that the hard work and progress that they are making is paying off.

‘We had to work hard for that win which was good to see in a difficult situation with no crowd, with the wind and with injuries. So to see that character and power in the second half was encouraging.’

To say the first 40 was not quite worth the seven-month wait since the Six Nations was interrupted was an understatement. The Llanelli weather did its worst meaning the ball was slippy, lineouts were lost, kicks fell wide or long and the spectacle suffered.

Stuart Hogg tries to fend off the double tackle from Wales as he makes a line break

Wales did manage to score a try after Fraser Brown threw a lineout long, Ryan Elias gathered it 10 metres from the Scottish line and then eight phases later Carre bashed over between the posts.

Dan Biggar kicked the conversion, but he looked like he was struggling too. After the break, Biggar’s back gave in and he went off. And then Wales lost their lead. Scotland went for the corner and it paid off — McInally joined by a cast of seemingly thousands in a maul that practically ran to the line.

Jones said: ‘We go into the Nations Cup with a fresh start. I’m pretty sure there’ll be changes. It’s interesting to see how we go and who gets opportunities but ultimately we definitely need improvement.’